Chapter 5 - Rebecca’s Story
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Victor met Rebecca Marsh at a police interview center just after sunrise.
He did not bring Rose.
He did not bring Marina.
Only Jonathan accompanied him.
Rebecca was thirty-two.
A pediatric nurse.
Exhausted.
Terrified.
She held a sleeping baby boy against her shoulder.
Victor stopped at the doorway.
The child had dark hair.
Round cheeks.
One tiny fist tucked beneath his chin.
Victor’s chest tightened.
He had seen that sleeping expression before.
On Rose.
Rebecca noticed.
“You see it too.”
Victor could barely speak.
“Is this Gabriel?”
Rebecca began crying.
“I don’t know what name his mother chose.”
Victor moved slowly.
“May I?”
Rebecca hesitated.
Then allowed him closer.
Victor touched the baby’s hand.
The little fingers closed around his thumb.
Victor looked away.
He had imagined his son dead for nine months.
He refused to believe anything yet.
Not without proof.
Rebecca explained.
On March 14, she worked temporary overnight shifts at St. Agnes.
A private transport arrived unexpectedly.
A newborn boy.
No parent present.
Paperwork said the mother had died and the father had surrendered parental rights.
Victor stared.
“I never surrendered anything.”
“I know that now.”
Rebecca had been asked to provide short-term specialized care because the infant had minor breathing complications.
Three days later, Marina visited.
“She said the father was dangerous.”
Victor’s face hardened.
“What exactly did she say?”
“That if you found the baby, there would be a custody war. She said his mother’s final wish was to keep him away from the Bellini family.”
Jonathan wrote everything down.
Rebecca continued.
Marina offered to pay for private care.
Then, when the baby improved, she arranged for Rebecca to become temporary guardian.
Rebecca believed she was protecting an abandoned child.
“Why didn’t you contact child services?”
“I did.”
Victor looked at her.
“What happened?”
She produced copies.
A private attorney had responded claiming the matter was already under sealed family-court supervision.
Attorney:
Richard Sloan.
Jonathan knew the name.
He worked for one of Marina’s corporate law firms.
Victor felt sick.
Rebecca looked down at the baby.
“I started questioning things two months ago.”
“Why?”
“Marina stopped talking about permanent adoption.”
“What did she talk about?”
Rebecca’s face tightened.
“Your wedding.”
Victor froze.
Marina and Victor were scheduled to marry on New Year’s Eve.
Six days away.
Rebecca said Marina repeatedly asked her to keep the child hidden until after the wedding.
Then she promised something strange.
“After I’m Mrs. Bellini, everything changes.”
Victor looked at Jonathan.
“What changes?”
Jonathan’s face darkened.
“The prenuptial agreement.”
“What about it?”
“If you marry Marina before discovering another biological child, she receives certain spousal trustee rights automatically.”
Victor understood.
Marina didn’t merely want to hide Gabriel.
She needed Gabriel hidden until the wedding.
Then she could reveal him under circumstances she controlled.
May you like
👉 Marina wasn’t protecting a secret child—she was waiting until marriage gave her legal power over the moment Victor discovered him.
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